Here’s what burn-in means, if you’re unaware. When you first buy a computer, the very best thing you can do for it is leave it on for 24 hours nonstop, preferably doing something that’s reasonably hard work. That practice is called burning in a computer. If there’s anything at all wrong with it, there’s a very good chance it will come up in that initial 24 hour period. I’ve been doing that for more than 20 years, and of all the computers I’ve owned in that timeframe–and it’s an army of them, believe me–I’ve only had one machine fail prematurely. One.

The practice works.

So what about a tablet or a smartphone?

They don’t look like a traditional computers, but they have a CPU, RAM, and solid-state storage just like an expensive laptop. They benefit from the same treatment.

So, the very best thing you can do for that new phone or tablet once you get it home is to plug it in, download Stability Test, and run its classic stress test any time you’re not actively using it. Make sure the phone or tablet is doing something for 24 continuous hours very early in its life. If it doesn’t hang or crash at all during this period, then you know you have a good device.

What if it does hang or crash? Well, assuming you haven’t modified it at all, take it back for an exchange. Tell customer service that it freezes up when it’s working hard, like during a long Angry Birds session.

This isn’t the only use for Stability Test. In fact, I have it cranking right now on my year-old Cyanogenmod-toting Nook Color. If I find anything interesting from doing that, I’ll write about it later.